Ohio high school students faced disciplinary action early this week for wearing t-shirts that featured messages supporting LGBTQ equality. Last week, while celebrating “twin day” at Celina High School, two students came dressed in “Lesbian 1” and “Lesbian 2” T-shirts, but were forced to remove them. In solidarity, Tuesday, twenty additional students came to school […]
Next Tuesday, Floridians will cast votes on Amendment 6, a state constitutional amendment that could endanger women’s health and interfere with a woman’s decision as to whether or not to end a pregnancy. This is why women’s advocates are urging voters to VOTE NO ON 6. Amendment 6 is dangerous because it could: – Ban […]
The US Supreme Court refused to hear a case on Monday brought on by the anti-abortion group Personhood Oklahoma, rejecting its attempt to challenge the Oklahoma court’s ruling against a proposed Personhood ballot measure in the state. The “personhood” amendment, which has also appeared (and was subsequently defeated) in states like Colorado and Mississippi, defines […]
Yesterday, President Obama’s campaign released three statements announcing his endorsement of state ballot initiatives to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland, Washington, and Maine. In April the President also spoke out against the measure in Minnesota, which would change the state’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage, even though Minnesota already has a law against same-sex marriage. […]
A Texas federal appeals court rejected Planned Parenthood’s challenge to a ban on government funding for the state’s women’s health clinics. A court had ruled in August to withhold all funding to Planned Parenthood and other women’s health clinics in the state that also provide abortions. Payments were provided under the state’s Women’s Health Program, […]
Yesterday, a father was stabbed outside a Grant Pass, Oregon, Planned Parenthood clinic after a dispute erupted between his daughter and an anti-choice protestor. According to the police report, the situation began after the daughter, Kailah Clair, kicked a protest sign outside the Planned Parenthood clinic. The protestor, Christopher Tolhurst, responded by pushing the girl. […]
During a debate on Tuesday night, Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said that women who have been raped should be required to carry resulting pregnancies to term because the pregnancy is “a gift from God” that “God intended to happen.” His statement in full [VIDEO]: “I believe life begins at conception. The only exception […]
Yesterday, a Federal Court of Appeals ruled that Planned Parenthood could not be denied government funding under Medicaid regardless of whether or not the organization has clinics that offer abortions. In the ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge Diane Sykes wrote, “The defunding law excludes Planned Parenthood from Medicaid for a reason unrelated to its fitness to […]
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, we will be outlining state ballot initiatives and referenda of major significance to women. Since the spring of 2010, when Arizona enacted S.B. 1070 (the harshest immigration law in the country), lawmakers and immigrant rights advocates have worked both to weaken the controversial law and to ensure […]
Last Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction that blocks an Arizona law prohibiting federal funding, through Medicaid, for health providers who also perform abortions. The request was granted to Planned Parenthood since the District Court Judge Neil Wake “said the organization was likely to succeed on the merits of its case”. In a […]
Reproductive rights groups are partnering up for the ‘Educate Congress’ initiative, which will send a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves to every congressional office. The action is designed to educate congressional representatives on how women’s bodies work. Our Bodies, Ourselves was originally published in 1971 by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective and is currently […]
Missouri Senate candidate and current Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) recently compared his opponent Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to a dog in remarks he made at a campaign fundraiser. “She goes to Washington, D.C., it’s a little bit like one of those dogs, you know ‘fetch,’” Akin said. “She goes to Washington, D.C., and get all […]
Last week, the Texas health and human services commissioner, Dr. Kyle Janek, announced he would end the Texas Women’s Health Program if a federal appeals court allows Planned Parenthood to participate.In March, Governor Rick Perry implemented a rule that excludes affiliates of abortion providers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, essentially cutting any government funding […]
Stories of sexual violence, punctuated by the words “RAPE IS RAPE,” were projected onto the U.S. Capitol building last night in Washington, D.C. Activist groups Luminous Intervention and FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture organized the action with the intent of drawing attention to the discourse around rape culture, noting that “American culture is uncomfortable to the […]
Yesterday morning 45-year-old Radcliffe Haughton allegedly gunned down seven women at the salon where his estranged wife worked, killing three of them, including his wife, Zina Houghton, before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. Although the details of the case are still coming to light, it is clear that this was […]
While everyone is consumed in the upcoming election and “women’s issues”, there is yet another disturbing threat at large—the global war on women. The global war I’m thinking of goes beyond reproductive rights to the basic necessity of living free of fear. Last week Malala Yousafzai’s shooting grabbed the world’s attention. Her suffering on account of her desire to attend school put into perspective the violence girls and women face as they exercise their basic rights.
Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley resigned from her position on Thursday, citing targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws approved in late September as the primary reason for her resignation. These TRAP laws were designed to force existing abortion clinics to meet the same building codes as new hospitals. The Virginia Board of Health […]
Today the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court’s decision. This is the second federal appeals court to rule the law unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth Amendment, equal protection under the law. However, this is the first ruling […]
A new federal study from the National Center for Health Statistics released today finds that the pill and sterilization are still the most popular birth control methods, but other hormonal methods like the patch, the ring, and the IUD are on the rise. The National Center for Health Statistics surveyed approximately 12,000 American women ages […]
Today, Northern Ireland opened its first private abortion clinic, the Marie Stopes Family Planning Center, in Belfast. The center will operate in accordance with the laws of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which permits strictly restricted abortions. The center will offer surgical abortion within the first nine weeks of pregnancy and administer […]
